Things Can Always Get Worse
by obsessionist97
Summary: Never say, "It can't get any worse." Especially if you happen to be a con artist... Yeah, my summary is kind of bad. Hopefully, you'll like it. Meant to be a team fic, but it has relationships in it. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them. THAT WOULD BE AWESOME. But I don't.

**Author's Note: **This is my first story; let me know if I have any talent as a writer. _

"AH!" Nate gasped as a sharp ring broke the silence. Slightly disoriented, he had to scramble for a second before his thoughts came back to him. He looked around and realized that he had fallen asleep on his couch, reading a book.

Another ring shot through the room, and he grabbed the phone. He frowned as he saw the caller ID; Sophie Devereaux.

It was two in the morning! Why was she calling him this late?

Ignoring the part of him that wanted to switch the phone off and go back to sleep, he picked up the phone. "Sophie, what are you doing awake at _two in the morning_?" he asked. "Is everything OK?"

"Hello, Nathan." An unexpected voice said. "Remember me?"

Nate stopped breathing. _Not you!_

"How could I forget you, Ian?" he asked coldly.

Ian Blackpoole chuckled over the line. "I was rather hoping you wouldn't. You see, I have a bit of a problem. Ever since you threw me out of IYS, I haven't been hired anywhere. I'm out of money, and quite honestly, my life is awful."

"Well, that sucks for you." Nate said unsympathetically.

"Now, Nathan." Blackpoole continued. "You might want to be a little more understanding of my situation. You might even offer to help me."

Nate scoffed. "And _why_ would I do that? We got you where you are, and you deserve it!"

"Why would you help me… Why would you help me…" he muttered. "Oh, I know! Would this help?"

There was a scuffling over the line, and then Sophie's voice came over the line. "Hello, Nate?" she asked shakily.

Nate's heart changed to a block of ice. "Sophie? Soph, are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

"No," she murmured. "Just a bit of sweet…." She trailed off.

"What? Are you-"

"That's enough of that." Ian said, coming back onto the line.

"Ian, whatever you've done to her…" Nate growled, trailing off.

"Nathan, relax!" Blackpoole said, laughing. _The nerve!_

"Listen," he continued. "I'll make you a deal. You agree to give me 100 million dollars, and I'll let her go."

For once, Nate had nothing to say. _100 million dollars? Where will I get that from?_

"Oh, and Nathan," Blackpoole added suddenly. "If I don't have the money in 48 hours, I'll kill her. If you tell the cops, I'll kill her. If you try to pull one over on me, I'll kill her. Now, we don't want that, do we?"

Nate gulped and asked, "How do I get you the money?"

"Text me at this number when you have the money." Blackpoole said. "I'll let you know then. Don't try to pull any tricks, Nathan. You wouldn't want to be responsible for someone else's life, now would you?"

"YOU-" Nate began to shout, but a dial tone met him.

Blackpoole had hung up, and he'd taken Sophie's future with him.

**So? Should I continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Diclaimer: **YES! I OWN THEM... ~wakes up~ NO IT WAS A DREAM!

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone who likes this story! I have several chapters written already, so...yeah, enjoy!

"HARDISON!" Eliot growled. "WHY is your junk all over my house?"

"Hey, man!" the hacker called out from the main room. "First of all, it's NOT your house. It's Sophie's vacation house! And second, she told us to make ourselves at home, and this is what my home looks like!"

Eliot frowned in disgust as he picked up a piece of plastic from the floor that he somehow identified as a soda bottle. He walked into the main room and said, "Your home looks like a junkyard, Hardison?"

"No," Parker piped up. "I've been to his house. It's nice, especially his bedroom. It has these cute curtains that match with the linen…"

Eliot frowned, trying not to think of why Parker would be in Hardison's house. Apparently, Hardison was on that same train of thought.

He choked on his orange soda. "When were you in my house?" he asked, terrified.

Parker shrugged. "I got in through the air vent. It's nice. I sleep there a lot."

Eliot rolled his eyes. "Parker, there's-"

"There's something wrong with me. I know, I know. You tell me that all the time!" she said, grinning.

Eliot gave up on trying to make sense of his teammates' worlds, and returned to packing.

"Guys, we're scheduled to leave for my vacation home in Ukraine in about an hour!" Eliot shouted."Are you both finished packing?"

"Yeah!" they both shouted.

"Well, after Hardison gets the trash all over the place, we can leave!" Eliot shouted back, happy to hear the sound of Hardison cleaning up.

A few minutes later, the three of them were loading their bags into the taxi that Eliot got for them. They sat inside and talked as the cab sped to the airport.

"It was nice of Sophie to let us use her vacation home." Parker said.

"Yeah, it was." Eliot agreed, his southern accent peeking through.

"Eliot, why do you have a vacation home in Ukraine?" Hardison asked, changing the subject.

"Hardison, do I ever question why you live right next to Parker's house?" Eliot asked, grinning.

The hacker might have blushed, but it was hard to tell. "Hey, that is none of your business!" he protested.

Parker looked at him curiously. "Yeah, Hardison, why _did_ you move in next to me?" she asked.

"Hey, hey!" Hardison said uncomfortably. "I don't think this is the best time-" Luckily, he was interrupted by the cab driver, who dropped them off. Eliot paid him, and they made their flight with pure seconds to spare.

Leaving Hardison and Parker watching a movie, Eliot decided to take a nap. He needed one, especially if he was going to be watching these two for another week.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: **:D... no.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to all who like this!

Nate was having an internal battle with himself.

Ever since that call, he hadn't gone back to sleep. He had tried calling the rest of the team several times, only to remember that they were most likely on the way to Eliot's Ukraine residence.

Ever since that letdown, he racked his brains, trying to think of three things. One: How was he going to get 100 million dollars?

Two: Who could help him now, since his friends were on an international flight?

And three: If he didn't get the money, how was he going to get Sophie back?

As he struggled with these questions, a very obvious answer came to him. Why not call Tara?

He had debated it for a while. Tara wasn't exactly the most dependable type. She also worked for a profit, and the only reason she helped them at all was because she owed Sophie a favor.

Then again, every minute wasted wasn't going to get him 100 million dollars.

He hesitantly punched in her phone number, hoping she would answer. The grim silence around him was beginning to drive him mad.

Tara groaned as her cell phone rang. She had been trying to prepare for a con, and she usually hated to be disturbed.

She glared at the phone, willing it to shut up. When that didn't happen, she checked the caller ID, intending to give the called a piece of her mind.

The intention slipped away when she recognized the number.

"Nate?" she asked, accepting the call. "Is that you?"

She was shocked. Ever since she left the team, Nate hadn't called. No one else had either, except Sophie. She called while Nate was in jail, thanking Tara for her help. Unfortunately for her, Tara asked if they were all OK. Which was when Sophie broke down and confessed that Nate had been taken to prison.

Last she heard, they had gotten him out of there and all had been relatively well. As well as life could go for a group of con artists.

"Yeah, it's me." He said in reply. He sounded awful. And very stressed out.

"Are you all right? Is everyone OK?" I asked, concerned.

"Hardison, Parker and Eliot are on vacation. As far as I know, they'll be arriving in Ukraine soon."

Tara frowned. Vacation in Kiev? How… strange.

"What about you? Are you all right? And what about Sophie?" she asked.

"Tara… I got a phone call early this morning." Nate said. Tara glanced at her clock, noting that it was only 7:20.

"How early are we talking about?" she asked suspiciously. She could just _see_ him shrugging. She knew them all that well.

"About two in the morning." He admitted.

Tara noticed a feeling of dread creeping into her. "Who was it?"

"It… was a former mark." Nate said. "His name is Ian Blackpoole. Ever heard of him?"

She immediately recognized the name. Before she joined the team, she'd done research on them. Ian Blackpoole was one of their biggest hits. She knew everything about that particular job, from _why_ to _how_.

"Yeah, I'm familiar with that case." Was all she said. Exactly how familiar, she didn't want him to know. There was probably a reason he never mentioned his son to her.

"He called me… he said that he had Sophie." Nate said. Tara could hear the strain in his voice, and felt panic to match.

"Do the others know?" she gasped, abruptly leaving the con preparations. This was more important.

"Not yet. I can't reach them…"

Tara was on her computer. "Nate, are you still in Boston? In the pub?"

"Yes." He replied.

"Good, I'll meet you there in about 3 hours." She said, finishing the online flight reservation.

"What? Where are you?" he asked, stunned, and she could tell he wasn't expecting this.

"I'm in Chicago. I booked a flight to Logan. Don't bother coming to get me; I'll get a cab." She said, throwing a few clothes and her laptop into a suitcase.

"Tara, I didn't mean-" he started to say, but she waved it off.

"Nate, you can't handle something like this alone. I'll be there in 3 hours, tops. Did he want a ransom?"

After a moment's hesitation, he replied, "Yes. He wanted 100 million."

"_Dollars?_" she gasped, her eyes nearly falling out of her head. "That's…."

"Yeah," he said dryly. "I know."

_This is so not good…_

"I'll be there soon." Tara replied. "In the meantime, I'm guessing you've had no sleep since the call." His hesitation confirmed her suspicion. "Nate, go to sleep. I'll be there soon."

"All right." He said. "And Tara?"

"Hm?" she asked, preoccupied.

"Thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them. But since Leverage Season 4 starts tonight, that's ok! :D

**Author's Note: **Been a while since I updated, but the technology in our house has been going crazy! Rate, Comment, etc. PLEASE. I need to know if I should keep going!

"Eliot!" Parker said urgently. "Wake up!"

Eliot jumped awake, startled. "What? What?" he asked anxiously. Being disoriented was a bad thing. If they were in danger…

"The waitress asked if you wanted a drink." She explained calmly.

Eliot, disbelieving, looked to his left. Sure enough, there was a flight attendant there. She looked very confused.

Only the fact that she was there stopped him from letting a string of profanities and insults at his teammates.

"Erm, I'm all right, thanks," he told her. She quickly scribbled something down and flew to the next passenger.

"Parker…" he growled.

"What?" she shrugged, eyes wide and innocent. "She said, "Wake him up." "

"No, no, no!" Hardison interrupted. "She said, "DON'T wake him up!" "

"Oh…" Parker said, frowning. She shrugged again and turned back to her locks.

Eliot looked around the cabin. It appeared to be dark outside, and people were doing various things. Parker was picking locks, Hardison was reading from his Kindle (Seriously, WHY did people need electronics to read a book?), and most other people were either sleeping or drinking something.

"Hardison," he asked quietly. "How long have I been-"

"In just a few moments we will be landing in Kiev, Ukraine." A voice sounded over the PA. "We hope you've had a nice flight, and thank you for choosing British Airways!

"This flight was five hours long!" Eliot gasped. He'd been sleeping for _four and a half hours?_

"Yeah, man. We didn't want to wake you up." Hardison said. Eliot didn't know quite what to say, so he just sat in companionable silence with him as the plane landed.

Parker gathered her locks and lock picks, and they left the plane. While Hardison and Parker claimed the baggage, Eliot arranged a taxi to take them to his vacation home.

Things passed in a blur, and before they knew it, they were at Eliot's. Hardison and Parker, tired from jetlag, decided to sleep first and explore later. Since Eliot wasn't tired at all, he did some work. In the middle of making a shopping list and exploring what food he already had, his phone vibrated.

First of all were about 20 voicemails, all from Nate. Before Eliot could call him, he got a call.

The number wasn't listed in his contacts. Nor was it a number that called him often. But he recognized it all the same.

"Maggie?" Eliot asked, picking the phone up.

"Eliot, thank goodness! Are you alright?" Maggie asked, worry peaking through her voice.

Eliot was surprised. The real question should be, is _she_ alright?

"I'm fine, I guess." Eliot said. "Parker and Hardison are with me in my vacation home in Ukraine-"

"That's why I'm calling! Eliot, the Butcher of Kiev is looking for you!" she gasped out. From the sound of it, she was running.

"The-" he broke off. "How do you…?"

"I'm in Kiev… at an art exhibit! He just showed up, vowing to take revenge on "Spencer" and all who know him. He told his men to-" There was a sudden scream, and the sounds of gunfire sounded on the phone. Then an engine started.

"Maggie!" Eliot shouted, forgetting his sleeping teammates.

"I'm alright." She said shakily. "I got to my car." As if to confirm this, the sounds of screeching tires hit the pavement sounded through the phone.

"Maggie, listen to me." Eliot said. "I have more than one residence here. Head to 534 Khreshchatyk Street. It's a dummy. I'll meet you there."

"No! It's dangerous!" she protested. "I'll leave the country or something-"

Eliot snorted. "And you think he's not above crashing a plane full of innocents to get one target?" he shook his head. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Are they following you?"

"I don't think so."

"Good. I'll see you in 45 minutes."

Eliot snapped the phone shut and headed for his jacket. He was about to step out of the door when Parker fell to the floor from an air vent entrance in the ceiling.

"Parker!" Eliot exclaimed. "Give a guy some warning before you do that, huh?"

She ignored him. "Are you going out with Maggie?"

Eliot frowned. "Not exactly. She's in trouble- Hey, were you eavesdropping?"

"What, me? No…" At a glare from Eliot she admitted, "Yes."

He sighed. "Well, if I'm not back soon, tell Hardison to call Nate and Sophie. Tell them the Butcher of Kiev wants me and is chasing Maggie, alright?"

Parker's eyes widened, but she responded, "Okay."

"Good. See ya." Eliot said, heading out the door.

"Eliot?" she asked suddenly. "What happens if you don't come back?"

The question was so out of character for her, Eliot stopped in shock. "Whaddya mean?" he asked. "Of course I'll be back." He gave her a reassuring smile.

Parker grinned, her sudden lack of confidence vanishing. "Of course you will." She echoed. "Who else is going to tell me that there's something wrong with me?"

Eliot smiled one last time at her, and ran out to the car. He started the engine, and got a call. Again.

_What the…?_ He asked himself as he saw the number.

The alliance with Tara was supposed to be over. Why was she calling?

**What happens next? Review and find out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. I can see areas of the show where I would GLADLY help out (:D), but I don't own them.**

**Author's Note: I just saw the Season 4 premere. Funny, but then I saw the ad for next Sunday's one. Every time I see the ad for the next episode, I get excited. So even though it's 9:30 at night and I'm sleepy, I won't get to sleep for another few hours. I HATE GOOD ADVERTISING.**

**Enjoy! **

Sophie moaned as she woke up. She felt like she had a hangover, and she couldn't remember anything at all. She was facing the pillow, so she twisted around to see where she was. That's when she noticed pressure on her wrist.

Pushing herself up, she realized that her wrists were tied together behind her. Moving around some more, she found that her ankles were bound similarly and that she was gagged. Looking around, she noticed that it was pitch black around her.

_What in the world happened?_ She thought, confused. Since she couldn't see anything, she tried to listen to anything that might be happening around her. Maybe she would remember what happened then.

A faint voice could be heard. She recognized it, but couldn't quite place it. A second voice chimed in, even more familiar than the last.

Among the words they were saying, she caught the word "Nathan". She gasped as his name jogged her memory.

She remembered everything now. Most of it, anyway. The three younger team members had gone off vacationing for two weeks. She and Nate were still in Boston, spending quality time together. It was making a wonderful effect on their relationship, until she got a text from Nate's phone at 10:30 pm one night, saying there was an emergency with the team.

She remembered running to the car in a rush, anxious to see what was wrong. That's when everything went black, and her next memory was of…

She gasped as the truth dawned. She had been kidnapped! By Ian Blackpoole, of all people.

Sophie thought back to what she had told Nate on the phone. He had been worried about her; it was clear in his voice. What had she told him? She couldn't remember...

Suddenly, a door opened from her right. Light flooded into the room. She kept still, breathing as if she were still asleep.

An all too familiar voice said, "Now, now. We wouldn't want to get off to a bad start, now would we?

The sleeping pretense vanished as Sophie looked up in shock. She gasped behind the gag, causing him to chuckle darkly.

"That's right." He continued. "It's me. You haven't seen me in quite a while, so I imagine this must be a real shock."

Sophie instinctively tried to say something, but it came out muffled.

"What's that?" he asked mockingly. "I really don't understand you."

She glared at him, imagining a thousand different ways to kill him. _Maybe Eliot would_. She thought errantly. _He certainly came close the last time, from what I heard._

Sterling sighed and yelled into the hallway, "She's awake!"

"Good, good." Blackpoole said, walking into the room. "Ms. Devereaux, I suppose you're wondering why you're here."

_Isn't it obvious?_ Sophie thought to herself.

"I believe you think this is about money." He started. "That's not the only thing. It's also about revenge. The money comes as an added bonus, and, to be honest, I don't need 100 million dollars. Sterling's getting 50% of it."

"Well, it's my revenge, too." Sterling added. "I mean, I did get fired from Interpol because he escaped from prison!"

Well, she hadn't heard _that_ until now. How had the team not noticed? Or did Nate find out and not tell her?

"So, I want to propose a deal with you." Blackpoole continued. Sophie raised her eyebrows and waited.

"You are very close to Nate." he observed. "We could use that to get more money, and a better form of revenge. If you agree to help us, we'll give you 25% of the profits."

Sophie didn't respond. She couldn't. For one thing, she was gagged. For another, she was shocked. Did he honestly expect her to help them get revenge on Nate?

Sterling removed her gag, and Blackpoole waited for an answer. Maybe she could pull one over on them, if she tried hard enough.

The gears began to churn in her head as she thought out a plan.

"When you say 'revenge'," Sophie started slowly. "What exactly are you suggesting?"

Blackpoole shrugged. "Well, first of all, I want his money. Second of all, I want to make him suffer. A lot."

An uneasy feeling settled in Sophie's stomach at his words, but she ignored it and asked, "Suffer how?"

"At first I thought I would just kill him." He said. "But then I had a change of heart. I'm going to get every member of your team right here, and test how much he cares about you all."

Sophie stopped breathing as she considered how Blackpoole would "test" how much Nate cares about them. A million possibilities flashed in her mind. Pushing them aside, she asked for specifics.

"I'm going to tell Nate that he can walk out of there with three of his eam members." Blackpoole said, grinning. "He can walk out, give me the money, and this can become a distant memory… _if_ he agrees to shoot the remaining team member."

Sophie gasped. "You mean… _kill_ the last team member?" she asked, appalled.

"Absolutely." He confirmed.

Sophie was about to refuse him, despite the threat, but caught a movement in the corner of her eye. Turning her head a fraction of an inch, she realized Sterling was telling her to stall. Blackpoole hadn't caught the movement, making Sophie wonder what was going on.

"I… Let me think about it." She managed, though the words felt like acid on her tongue. Blackpoole nodded and left the room, leaving her alone with Sterling.

"Well?" she asked, turning to him.

"Listen, there isn't much time!" Sterling hissed. "I'm still with Interpol. They sent me undercover here. I'm supposed to catch Blackpoole in the act of a crime. We've been suspecting him for awhile."

Sophie rolled her eyes. "And I'm supposed to believe you." She scoffed.

Sterling glared at her. "Why not?"

"Well, if you needed to catch him in a crime, you could have arrested him when he kidnapped me!" Sophie exclaimed.

"I wanted to bring him down on more charges." Sterling explained. Sophie could hear, though, the fact that he was hiding something. She _was_ a grifter. It was her job to read people.

"And?" she asked, waiting expectantly. It certainly wasn't easy, not bound the way she was, but she pulled it off.

Sterling sighed. "You're too observant. It's irritating. I also want to re-arrest Nate. He was my first case, after all. Interpol came close to kicking me off, but then this showed up and they never got the chance."

"Too bad…" Sophie muttered, more to herself than to him, but he heard her anyway.

"You know, I could always kill you and claim that Blackpoole did it. It wouldn't be very hard." He said, his hand going to his holster.

Sophie gulped uneasily, having no doubts that he would kill her if he was irritated enough. Besides, the plan that Blackpoole was using had a 25% chance of her death.

Sterling chuckled. "As long as you behave yourself, we'll be fine."

Sophie was tempted to ask why a member of Interpol would kill someone out of cold blood, but held back. Instead, she asked, "What are you planning on doing to catch him?

Sterling's phone rang, keeping him from replying. "Sterling." He greeted as he answered the phone. His expression changed to one of surprise as he heard who was on the other side of the phone. "No, I'm still undercover." He whispered checking to make sure Blackpoole was nowhere in sight. "He's kidnapped someone- she's fine, for the time being. I want him on more charges. It's alright, I've got it handled. Will do. Bye."

Sterling hung up. "That was my commanding officer." He announced. "I have two days until they replace me."

Sophie's stomach sank. Two days?

"He won't have to decide, will he?" she asked quietly.

Sterling hesitated. "I'm not sure." At Sophie's appalled look, he defended himself. "I don't control everything! I just don't know how this will play out."

Sophie searched for words, but was spared having to say anything.

"Blackpoole wanted me to knock you out again." Sterling said.

_Well, isn't he having fun playing kidnapper? _Sophie thought bitterly. The man did sound happy about it. _Maybe he's crazy. He _did_ wait for 4 days in the trunk of a car to catch a thief one time._

_Or was it 5?_

He didn't give her a chance to reply before he was holding a while cloth to her nose. Sophie tried not to inhale, but a person could only do that for so long.

_He's crazy enough. Must've been 5._

**So? Review please?**

**Also, sorry about the rant at the beginning of this Chapter. I kind of needed that...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey peoples!**

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I've been kinda busy... Speaking of which, I'm writing a Get Smart fic. So yeah. Enjoy!**

A knock on the door caused Nate to nearly jump out of his skin guiltily. He stared at the bottle in front of him, like he had for the past hour or so. What had started as a quest for some peace of mind quickly turned into a standoff between temptation and what he knew was right.

_Well… why not?_

He took the bottle and was about to pour the drink into a glass when he thought of Sophie. What would she do?

He felt a piercing stab of guilt. She wasn't here to stop him from drinking. This was all too familiar; it was the only reason he restarted while she was away. Now she wasn't here, and it was all because Blackpoole wanted revenge on _him_. It was his fault that she was in danger, that she was liable to be killed at any moment.

This kind of pain was the entire reason he started drinking.

But what, he asked himself, was this going to do to help her? If he was drinking, he would just take insane risks and probably succeed in getting her, and maybe himself, killed. It was almost like the Culpepper job, only no one had been killed that time. Granted, he had come close and had gone to prison, but at least no one was dead.

If she was here right now, she would probably ask him why he was doing this to himself, and if he insisted that he was fine, she would tell him that it hurt her too. And hurting Sophie was the last thing he would ever do, no matter what the circumstance.

He knew that if he messed up, she'd wind up dead. And that was enough for him to put the bottle away.

There were suddenly footsteps behind him, and he whirled around, expecting the worst. He relaxed visibly when he saw that it was Tara.

"I'm sorry." She said immediately. "I knocked, but you didn't answer, so…"

"Thank you for coming." Nate said. "I need help here, in any form."

"My stuff is in the spare room upstairs." She added. Nate raised his eyebrows, wanting to know how she knew he had a spare room, then letting it go. There were more urgent matters to pursue.

"Do you have any leads? Ideas? Plans? Money?" Tara asked as they walked to the couch.

"Nothing, except that she's with Blackpoole and that he has her phone." Nate said dejectedly.

Surprisingly, Tara grinned. "If he has her phone, then can't we track it?" she asked.

Nate looked at her in surprise. "I don't know how to trace a phone signal. That's Hardison's job. I was never good with computers."

"Can't you call them?"

"I've been trying, but they all go to Voicemail." He said.

"Let's try again…" Tara muttered, yanking out her phone. Punching in a few keys, she waited for a second before groaning and hanging up.

"Let me guess" Nate said dryly. "Parker's went right to voicemail."

"How did you know I called her first?" Tara asked, punching in another number.

"Ah, it was just a guess." Nate said.

Tara began to say something, but then she began to speak to whoever she was calling.

"Hello? Oh, hi, Eliot. It's me, Tara. I-" she broke off and began to listen to whatever Eliot was going on about.

"_What?_" she gasped. "Does Nate know? Well, why didn't you tell him?"

Nate listened with growing impatience. Tell him what?

"I'll tell him." Tara said. "But the reason I called was to ask you all to come back… no, I know you can't, given the situation, but Sophie's been kidnapped… that's why we need you here! We have less than 2 days to get him 100 million dollars… I know it's ridiculous, that's why we need your help! No, not just Parker and Hardison! Listen, if-"

"That's it!" Nate groaned, snatching the phone out of her hand.

"Hey!" she protested, but he gave it back to her.

"It's on speaker now." He said, exasperated.

"Oh. Eliot?"

"Yeah!" he responded, sounding preoccupied.

"What's going on, Eliot?" Nate asked tersely.

Tara replied for him. "Eliot got a call from Maggie. She was at an art exhibit in Kiev and the Butcher showed up, vowing revenge on him and all who knew him. He's after Maggie now, and Eliot's directed her to a safe house. He's going to meet her there, and get all of them out safely."

Nate almost choked on his air. "_What?" _he gasped. This could not be happening. It was all too much!

Tara looked at him in concern while Eliot talked over the phone, telling them that they would be over there by the end of today if all went well, and then they could come up with a plan to save Sophie.

Nate finally found his voice, yelling, "What if it doesn't go well? What if you have to stay there for a while? What if the Butcher gets you, or Maggie? What if someone attacks Parker and Hardison? What if Blackpoole shortens his deadline? What if he kills Sophie? What if-"

"Nate!" Tara interrupted. "Nate, you have to relax! We won't get Sophie back if you freak out!"

Nate took several deep breaths, getting himself back under control while Tara made hasty arrangements with Eliot. When Tara hung up the phone, he apologized.

"Listen," Tara said, waving his apology off, "You're under a lot of stress. Anyone would understand, given the circumstances. Your ex-wife being stalked by a killer, your- Sophie being kidnapped by an old enemy…" she trailed off, shrugging.

Nate didn't miss the slip, and he wanted to know what she was going to say. He shrugged it off quickly, trying to figure out what he was going to do for money.

She must have read his mind, because she began looking at it from a logical side.

"Alright, how much time do we have?"

Nate didn't have to check; he had been counting down the hours with horror. "About 40 hours." He said.

"Ok… Ok…" Tara muttered, pacing. "We need money, right? How much do you have?"

"Almost nothing." Nate admitted. "I have about10 million, and that's including my life savings."

Tara started in shock. "You only have 10 million in life savings? Shouldn't you have more than that?"

"Sophie decided to use it for a con… it conveniently vanished around the time she went shoe shopping…"

He wasn't coping too well. She could tell. Grifters had a way of knowing things. Besides, anyone could see this. Probably even Parker.

_Wait a second… _Tara thought. _That's it! _

"Nate," she began excitedly. "Parker probably has money! From that first job you guys had? And then some?"

Nate considered this. "You're probably right, but if we can't get in touch with her-"

He was broken off by the sound of the phone ringing. Nate glanced at it in dread, thoughts of a shortened deadline flashing through his head. Tara picked up the phone for him and put it on speaker.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Sophie?" Hardison's panicked voice came over the phone.

"No, Hardison, its Tara! Is everything alright?" she asked, concerned, noticing the sounds of scuffling in the background.

"Eliot just called. Told us about Sophie." He said, still sounding shaken. "What're you doing at Nate's? Or did I dial the wrong number?"

"No, I'm in Boston." She assured him. "It's just, well…" sneaking a look at Nate, she said, "He needed some help, and I wasn't doing anything important, so…"

"Well, Parker and I are packing up. We're waiting for Eliot and Maggie to come back, and then a friend of Eliot's is gonna take us in a private jet back to the States. We're not trusting public places with the Butcher out and about." Hardison said.

In the background, Parker yelled, "What's all this stuff in your bag? It's really pretty! I like the diamonds-"

"PARKER!" Hardison yelled. "DON'T- I'll call you back, Tara." Lowering his voice, he added, "Keep an eye on Nate, I doubt he's taking it well." Leaving no room for an answer, he hung up.

Tara looked at Nate, but he wasn't focused on anything. He was staring into space, blinking occasionally, but not much else.

"Nate." she said. No response. "NATE." she said, louder. He jumped, startled. "What, what?"

"We need to figure out MONEY," she reminded him.

"I know, I know… How about you? Do you have any?" he asked. "Sorry, but desperate times…"

"Not much, about 30 million." She said, shrugging.

"So, 40 grand…." Nate said, thinking. "We need a LOT more. My guess is that Parker will be able to supply us, but…" he trailed off.

"What?" Tara asked.

"I don't want to give that- that…. Whatever, I don't want to give him money!" Nate said angrily. "I want to give him revenge, _again!_" He was pacing now, trying to think of ways to get Blackpoole back. Tara was both concerned and relieved.

Relieved because if Nate was making a plan, then he was moving out of his shocked stage.

Concerned because if he went too far, things would take a turn for the worse… like her last job with them.

**BAH-BAH-BAHHHHHH**

**Ahaha... Review?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**** OMG GUYS I am sooooo sorry I haven't updated this in something like FOREVER! I doubt any of you are even following this anymore, but if you are, I thank you for sticking with me!**

Eliot pulled into the driveway of the dummy address he had given Maggie. He noticed that there was only one other car, though that meant very little.

Glancing around a bit, he realized that there were a few other cars parked outside. Not a good sign…

Eliot hated guns. Everyone knew that. But there were times where he really didn't have a choice. He dug around in the glove compartment, searching for the gun he hid in it. _Desperate times…_

He snuck into the building, being careful to watch his back. He made his way to the room that he instructed Maggie to go to.

"Maggie,_"_ he hissed. "_Maggie! _Are you here?"

"Eliot? I'm over here," Maggie's voice said from behind him. He pivoted, only to find Maggie being held at gunpoint by the Butcher himself. The Butcher was surrounded by his men, who all had their guns out. Maggie grinned sheepishly at him.

Eliot cursed under his breath and pulled out his own gun. "What was that? I believe I didn't hear you." The Butcher said mockingly, stabbing the gun into Maggie's head. She flinched, and Eliot put the gun down after a moment of hesitation.

"I see we understand each other, Spencer. _Polozhite oruzhie prochʹ!_" the Butcher said. His men put their guns away, and Eliot raised an eyebrow. "Sit down, please," the Butcher said with fake politeness. He gestured to a bunch of metal chairs.

"First, let her go." Eliot said.

The Butcher laughed. "You're in no position to negotiate, Spencer. But, if you wish…" He roughly pushed Maggie towards him. She gasped, tripping over her own feet.

Eliot caught her, internally thinking about what would happen if he wasn't careful. If something happened to her, Nate would skin him alive… not to mention that he was needed to help get Sophie back. He set Maggie down next to him in the metal chairs.

"Now," the Butcher said. "I'd love to know what you're doing in Kiev, Spencer."

"I could say the same thing." Eliot replied smoothly. He was trying to find a way out, though there weren't many options.

"_Vozʹmi oruzhie iz_!" he barked, and suddenly all of his men had their guns out, pointed at Eliot and Maggie. "Do I need to use the lady again?" he asked innocently.

Eliot growled. This was bad. "What do you want?" he asked.

The Butcher laughed maniacly. "What do I want? After that little stunt of your's at Mosconi's, I was kicked off the crew! I haven't been hired for anything since then,except the odd job that takes 5 minutes and pays 5 cents! I'm pretty much on the streets now, and it's your fault!"

Eliot snorted. "If you're so poor, how come you're wearing an Armani suit? Also, those men aren't following you around for free. They aren't like that."

"_Chert!_" the Butcher swore. He paced for a minute, then stopped. An evil smile lit up his face, and Eliot cringed internally.

"You know how I operate..." he began. "Then you must know how I deal with this kind of a standoff." As he spoke, Eliot noticed a slight sound in the space above them.

_Must be a rat in the air vents or something_. He figured, ignoring the sound. Suddenly, the sound stopped... _right above him._ He was more than a little freaked out.

Meanwhile, the Butcher was saying something about using them as bait for the whole team to show up. Maggie was turning slightly pale, and she locked eyes with Eliot.

"_Poehali! _Move it!" the Butcher yelled suddenly. His men put their guns away again, and proceeded to force Eliot and Maggie apart and out of the room. Eliot tried to count them all, and failed. There were so many of them! This was going to end very badly.

But before Eliot even considered fighting them and getting Maggie away, a resounding crack echoed throughout the room. Everyone froze momentarily to find a certain blond thief, holding a taser, standing over one of the men.

Another crack had them swiveling to see Hardison using the same technique as Parker.

Eliot decided to make the most of this pause in action. He only hoped Maggie wouldn't go into shock.

"_Koshelek ili zhiznʹ!_" He yelled, starting to punch his way through the crowd. Parker and Hardison, knowing little Russian, decided to just scream aimlessly and tase people.

Eliot had counted at least 20 men before reaching Maggie. She looked and acted fine, but he was still concerned. About her, and about the fact that the Russian's were starting to beat them. Already he was getting sore, and there had to be at least 30 more of them! Not even counting the one's that were tased!

He took Maggie's hand and began the painful process of leading her out of the building.

They made it outside, but the victory was short lived.

Moments later, the building exploded. With Parker and Hardison still inside.

**Haha cliffy :]**

**Lol no hating me please, free virtual cookie to reviews! I deliver them through PMs if you remind me!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**: **Whoa, people reviewed! I was so sure no one actually wanted to see more of this!**

**... Anyway...**

**Yeah I went up to Maine with a friend for 4 days and during that time I wrote this on my phone in my spare time! Enjoy! I'm also posting another Leverage Fic on here, it's called ****The Day After.**** It'll be up by tomorrow. **

**Enjoy this and be sure to review~**

Sophie woke up in a new room. She sat up carefully and got a good look at her situation. Her hands were untied, as were her ankles. There was no gag in her mouth, either. It felt like she was completely free!

She tried to stand up, but was brutally yanked back down.

"Wha?" she gasped. She was fuzzy from the drugs Sterling gave her, and began struggling wildly.

"Oh, settle down!" a voice chided from behind her. She turned around to find Blackpoole, sitting down and holding what looked like a key. Sophie frowned as she became aware of something around one of her wrists.

"Yes," Blackpoole answered to the unspoken thought. "You're handcuffed. One of your wrists is attached to that metal pole over there." He nodded toward a metal bar that was built into the wall.

"Um," Sophie said, still fuzzy. "How do I get out?"

"You can't." he said, smirking. "Not unless I release you. That's the point."

She sat up carefully, the drug-induced haze clearing from her mind. It was dim in the room, which helped. No light meant less of a headache, or so she thought. Just at that moment, Sterling walked in, bringing a flood of bright light with him.

_Of course._ Sophie thought, blinking against the light.

"Blackpoole," Sterling said urgently. "There are cops outside!"

"_What?_" Blackpoole screamed, jumping up. Her heart caught in her throat as she remembered what Ian said to Nate. _If you tell the cops, I'll kill her._

Did Nate call the cops? Why would he do that? Didn't he remember that Blackpoole would kill her?

Apparently, Blackpoole was on the same train of thought. He reached inside a pocket and whipped out a gun, pointing it at Sophie. Normally, she would have grifted her way out, but Blackpoole and Sterling knew _everything_ about her.

"I'm terribly sorry it has to end this way, Ms. Devereaux." Blackpoole said, sounding more panicked than apologetic. He pulled back the hammer of the gun and took careful aim. Sophie gasped, knowing that there was nothing she could do to save her life this time. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable...

"IAN!" Sterling shouted. "Will you THINK for once in your life? If you kill her, that's just one more charge against you! Those cops have plenty of charges already!"

Blackpoole looked thoughtful. "You know, Sterling, you're probably right. Get her out of here. Use the underground tunnel we dug to escape. I'll be right behind you." With that, he got up and left the room.

Sophie breathed a sigh of relief. "I never thought I would say this, but thank you, Sterling."

Sterling smirked. "Don't mention it. Besides, Nate never called the cops, so it would be wrong to punish him... so says my conscience. I would be happy to watch him burn in agony." Sophie narrowed her eyes, but instead of commenting on it, she asked, "So you called the cops?"

"Yes," Sterling confirmed as he uncuffed Sophie. "I got a call from my superiors again, asking if I had a plan. I asked them to wait it out, but long story short, I'm operating on my own now."

"Wait, they fired you?" Sophie asked.

"No, but if I disobey their orders and mess the whole operation up, I will get fired. However, I am not going to mess anything up; all I'm doing is buying more time to get to Nate." Sterling said, seeming quite happy with himself.

"STERLING! Get out here with her! I'm making a call, and then we're leaving!" Blackpoole roared. Sterling quickly tied Sophie's hands behind her back and gagged her, and then proceeded to drag her (with a little too much force for an Interpol agent) out to the room where Blackpoole was. He was holding Sophie's phone again, and Sophie had enough time to see who it was that he was calling.

_No... _she thought, horrified, as Blackpoole put the sound on speaker.

"Hello?" a voice said on the other end of the phone. It was Nate, and he sounded awful. Sophie longed to talk to him, to tell him everything would be alright, but she had no way of knowing that... she also had her life on the line.

"Nathan." Blackpoole greeted coldly. "I see you don't care much about Ms. Devereaux's life. I would have thought that after being the reason your son died, you wouldn't want to be the reason of yet another death of someone who cares about you."

Nate sounded like he was choking on air. "What?" he gasped out, sounding both tortured and confused.

"Let me elaborate for you, Nate," Sterling cut in smoothly. "We know you called the cops. And I'm afraid that we already warned you of the consequences of that action."

"It's high time you get what's coming to you," Blackpoole added, with a voice like venom.

Nate sounded like he was long past the ability to form coherent words, but he managed to choke out, "Never called...don't...Soph, please..."

Sterling laughed evilly, making Sophie shudder and begin to think that they were going to killer after all."Now, Nate." Sterling said condescendingly. "You know better than to lie to us. If you didn't call the cops, who else would have?"

"You didn't tell anyone else, did you?" Blackpoole growled threateningly.

"No! No, I swear!" Nate said, panicking. Before either Sterling or Blackpoole could say anything else to terrify Nate, the police pounded on the door.

"This isn't over, Nathan!" Blackpoole growled. "I will get revenge at you!"

"Wait!" Nate called out. "Where's Sophie? Is she ok? She's alive, right?" Sophie's heart broke at the sound of his voice, but there was nothing she could do without endangering both of them.

"Only time will tell, Nate." Sterling said, frighteningly calm. "Only time will tell." And with that, he hung up the phone. Blackpoole had a cold, blank expression on his face while Sterling had a look of smugness and sadistic satisfaction on his.

The police pounded on the door again, demanding to be let inside the safehouse. Sterling and Blackpoole, without another word, headed down into the tunnel, dragging Sophie with them.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: ****Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, writer's block likes me :(**

**Enjoy! Don't forget to R&R, and as always, I appreciate all constructive criticism, but no hating!**

Nate, once again, could only stare at the phone in horror at the message he had just received. Someone had called the cops, and it definitely wasn't him. _But who else could have done it? _he wondered. Aside from him, only the rest of the team and Tara knew... and the rest of the team was busy getting Maggie back...

_Could Tara have done it?_

"I would never!" Tara said, sounding offended. Nate started, realizing he must have been thinking out loud.

"Sorry," Nate said apologetically. "I know you wouldn't, but who else could have?"

"I'm not sure..." Tara said thoughtfully. "Maybe it was Parker or Hardison. Remember, they said they were just going to wait for Eliot and Maggie to get back? Maybe they-"

"Wait a minute!" Nate said as something hit him. "When did Sterling get involved in this? I thought it was just Blackpoole! And another thing, he never told me I couldn't tell anyone! He just said not to tell the cops!"

"Maybe he just messed up a little, Nate. He has to be panicked with the cops right outside his door." Tara stated.

"If the cops are right outside his door, how is he going to escape?" Nate wondered, frowning.

"We need to get a search started. We need Hardison." Tara said. "And we need to hurry, before something happens to Sophie!" Nate flinched at the thought, but hurriedly began to dial Hardison's phone number. But before he could finish, a call from Eliot came through.

"Eliot?" Nate asked, putting the phone on speaker.

"Nate? Nate, is that you?" a freaked out voice responded.

"Maggie!" Nate and Tara exclaimed at the same time. "You alright?" Nate asked, relieved.

"The building..." Maggie said, trailing off.

"What?" Nate asked, confused. A sudden shock hit him as he realized what she might be trying to say. "Maggie, where's Eliot?" he asked urgently. He could hear some white noise for a second.

"Hello?" Eliot's voice came over the phone.

"Eliot, is Maggie ok?" Nate asked. "Is the Butcher still following you?"

"Nate... I wouldn't call any of us ok." Eliot said quietly.

"Why?" Tara asked, fear arising at the tone of Eliot's voice. "What happened?"

"Maggie and I were about to be captured by the Butcher and his goons when Parker and Hardison showed up out of nowhere and saved us. I managed to get Maggie out, but..."

"But what?" Tara asked, voicing Nate's thoughts.

Eliot's voice trembled as he spoke again. "They blew up the building. With Parker and Hardison still inside."

"THEY WHAT?" Nate and Tara screamed. In the background, they heard Maggie let out a sob.

"I didn't know!" Eliot growled, suddenly violent. "I thought they were right behind us, then Maggie and I made it out, and the next thing I knew-"

"Eliot... it isn't your fault." Tara said gently.

"Tara's right, Eliot." Nate said, sounding pained. "Knowing the Butcher, he probably outnumbered you 10 to 1."

"That doesn't matter!" Eliot shouted. "**I** am supposed to protect my team! No matter what! It was my job to make sure this never happened!"

"Eliot, this is not your fault." Tara said firmly. "You were getting Maggie out. She was your first priority."

"Listen, why don't you-" Nate started to say, but he was cut off by a beeping sound.

"Hello? Who is-" Maggie started to ask, but she suddenly stopped.

"Maggie, who is it?" Eliot asked robotically. There was no response. "Maggie?" Eliot asked.

Suddenly, another voice could be heard. "Maggie! Eliot! We're ok! Do you hear me? We're fine!"

"Hardison?" They all gasped in disbelief.

"Yeah, man! Did you think we were gonna leave you 2 people short to look for Sophie?" Hardison asked playfully.

"I'm fine too!" another voice chimed in. "That was fun! Can we blow up another building?"

"DAMMIT HARDISON!" Eliot roared. "WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE TOLD ME YOU WERE GONNA BLOW UP THE BUILDING? I THOUGHT YOU-" he broke off.

"What did you think?" Parker asked naively.

Tara hurriedly broke in before their arguing could really get started. "Look, that doesn't really matter right now."

"She's right," Nate added, relieved that Parker and Hardison were alright. "Just get back here as soon as you can."

"Wait, Hardison and I are hiding near the building..." Parker said.

"Eliot's coming back to get you guys." Maggie said.

"I am?" Eliot said, still sounding angry. "I should just leave them there!"

"Eliot!" Nate and Tara shouted at the same time.

"Alright! I'll go back, but only because of Parker!" Eliot said stubbornly.

"As long as you bring both of them back." Nate said. "I need Hardison to hack into something for me."

"Alriiiiiight!" Hardison cheered. "Age of the-"

"Shut. Up." Eliot growled. "We'll be there in 5 minutes. Maggie, hang up the phone."

"More like 2 minutes, at the breakneck speed you're driving." Maggie muttered. "I'll see you guys soon, ok?"

"Yeah, sure." Parker replied.

"Got it." Hardison said. With that, Nate and Tara heard a click which, they assumed, was Maggie hanging up the phone.

"Nate, at the current rate we're going, we should be back in Boston in about 5 hours." Eliot said.

"Ok, Eliot, we'll see you at the airport." Tara said. Eliot gave a grunt in confirmation, and hung up the phone.


End file.
